Time for Change
by Chrubim
Summary: When Yellow tells Blue of her plan to activate the Cluster, Blue takes this as a sign that it's finally time for change. Spoilers for recent Steven Universe episodes. Slight Bellow Diamond.


"Two eyes stared at Blue from the mirror in her eerie chambers, wet with tears and shrouded by dark circles. Years of stress and grief had caused an almost permanent appearance of tear drops running down her cheeks, sometimes Blue would look in the mirror, unsure of whether she was truly crying or if her face was stained with the markings of her emotional turmoil. Looking away from the face in the mirror, Blue glanced at the scissors in her hands, twirling them around as her nose crinkled in disgust at what she was considering. Yellow had only just ended a video call with her and Blue had gotten up from her bed and moved herself to her on-suite where she had seen the scissors. Now she was here, unhooded and deep in thought, her eyes darting between her hair and the blades in her hands. She ran a hand through her off white locks- or, she attempted to. Tangles and knots obstructed her attempt to do so. Blue had long since forgotten what it was like to have the silky hair that was expected of a Diamond, the perfect beauty and well kept appearances. While all of the Diamonds were renowned for their appearances Blue had taken special pride in her hair, Yellow and White kept their hair short, spiked and tall, while Blue preferred hers to be long, shrouding her with grace and mystery as it fell to frame her face. She had felt beautiful then; before she lost Pink. Pink, who had also kept short hair, but had it fluffy and cute, something Blue had found endearing and sweet. Blue allowed a small smile to tug at her lips as she thought back on her time with Pink. Yellow had been adamant that Pink do something with her hair, make it more presentable, she's a Diamond, walking around looking like that? Pink, being so young, took such offence to Yellow's criticisms, always running to Blue who would laugh and pat Pink's head gently and reassure her that she was perfect as she was. Blue would tell her of how White would do the same to Blue for her long hair, telling her that the length was unnecessary for a Gem of Blue's stature and importance, a shorter style would work much better for appearances in court. Pink would ask how Blue handled it and the answer was always the same- "I proved myself. I'm a Diamond, and a Diamond will rule with greatness regardless of how we present ourselves. One day, you will have you own colonies and Yellow will know you're fine. You're a Diamond, Pink. Never doubt yourself." Blue pulled herself out of her memories and allowed herself to chuckle at how wide eyed Pink would be when looking at Blue, how much Pink would ask about her duties and her court. She was so curious, sometimes when she was bored Blue would allow her to play with her hair, tying it in braids, so long as it never left her chambers. Looking down at the scissors in her hands once more Blue knew what she was doing. She knew Yellow was right- "Wouldn't you rather forget?" Yellow's voice rang in her eyes as if she were there with Blue.

"Yes, Yellow... I think I would rather forget many things..."

Yellow Diamond stepped out of her ship, arriving at Blue's court an hour before she had said she would; brisk as usual. Yellow and her Pearl walked through Blue's extravagant palace, not paying any mind to the many Gem's from Blue's court who would bow with a stuttered "Good day My Diamond!" and a hasty salute. Yellow only had one thing on her mind: pick up Blue to finally give her closure. As Yellow neared Blue's private room she took note of how well looked after the palace was and sighed to herself.

"If Blue didn't have her servants this place would be rumble by now," Yellow thought to herself, a pang of guilt tugging at her chest. If Yellow hadn't of acted so harshly at Rose Quart's trial Blue might of already felt better by now. Maybe if Yellow hadn't given in to Pink's demands for a colony they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place...

"no, no time for the past," Yellow mentally shook herself, "now's the time to end this once and for all". Yellow rounded the corner and paused, seeing Blue's Pearl outside of her room standing with some Quartz guards. Why would Blue have her Pearl stand outside with the guards? Yellow's thoughts were interrupted by the Guards and Blue's Pearl standing to attention and saluting. Before any of them could say anything Yellow looked down at the Pearl with a raised brow.

"Pearl, where is Blue Diamond? Are you not meant to be with her at all times?" Yellow accused. The Pearl released her salute and bowed,

"My Diamond requested for me to wait outside her Chambers. She said she wished for privacy." The Pearl spoke soft and slow, though Yellow could hear the nervous stutter that was held back by the sudden question. Yellow was taken aback by this. Blue was always odd but wanting privacy at a time like this was almost worrying to Yellow. Who knows what she could be doing? Without another word Yellow opened the door and closed it the moment she was through, not even giving her own Pearl a chance at running with her through the massive metallic doors. Yellow heard a yelp from the bathroom, though seeing the door was difficult in the dim room. Yellow walked over to an area where a slight light could been seen on the floor signalling this was the room Blue was. Yellow could hear the slight sobs, small and meek, giving Yellow something akin to relief knowing Blue was in there and not missing. Yellow paused before speaking,

"Blue... are you in there?" Yellow almost kicked herself for the stupid question, but she wasn't sure what else to say. This was so unlike Blue, she wasn't the most social since Pink's demise but locking herself away from everyone including her Pearl was new. The door suddenly clicked, causing Yellow to jolt by the sudden sound, before it was slowly opened fully. Yellow chocked back a gasp at Blue, her sad eyes shining though the dark bedroom, the only light coming from the bathroom mirror's built-in lights. Blue looked away, clearly embarrassed and unsure of what to say as much as Yellow was.

"Ah, Blue. You," Yellow glanced to the side and then back to Blue's hair, "you've changed it up, I see."

Blue hardly reacted, only nodding slightly. While Blue's hair would of normally fallen over her shoulder as she nods now it only bobbed up and down slightly. It barley reached her chin, choppy and uneven, the only hair that reached her shoulders were the few stands that had yet to be brushed away and casted the floor like the rest of Blue's once long and thick hair. The Scissors in Blue's hands made Yellow guess that she had only just finished. They both stood there uncomfortably, each unsure of what to say, before Blue finally broke the silence by walking to a table and drooping the scissors on top of it. Yellow stepped out of her way, trying to think of what to do before Blue turned to face her with creased brows and a trembling lip.

"Yellow, I, I'm sorry you had to see me like this," Blue began, fumbling with her hands and looking down, "I just thought, if we... if we're going to Earth, if we're really serious about this being it and ending it, I wanted to do something more than just shatter Rose Quartz, I wanted to show that I'm Ready. I'm ready to move on and... I'm so sorry, I must look like such a fool!" Blue finally broke down, covering her eyes with hands as tears fell down her face. Yellow could only look on as Blue wept, stunned. Yellow had called Blue only a mere three hours ago to tell her of her plans to go to Earth to track down Rose Quartz, and in that time Blue had done more with her appearance than she had done in thousands of years, since Pink's shattering. As Blue's weeping turned to sobs, Yellow finally stepped into action, taking a tender step towards Blue and placing a hand on Blue's shoulder. Blue sniffed, turning her gaze upwards to Yellow and gave Yellow a look, a plea, to say something. Feeling the tension, Yellow shuffled closer to Blue and wrapped her arms around her, slowly, not wanting to startle Blue in her sensitive state.

"Blue, you're no fool," Yellow started, pausing to allow Blue to sniff again, "you showing you're so serious about this, to me, is the least foolish thing you could do. I know how hard this has all been on you, for all these centuries, and if this is how you feel you need to move on then I'll be with you through it. We do this together, all of it. We're going to make the Cluster emerge and we'll be rid of that miserable excuse of a planet once and for all. I'm going to be with you for all of it, even this."

Yellow looked down hopping her words helped Blue. She met sad and tired eyes looking up at her, though she saw the slight sign of a smile on Blue's face. Yellow allowed herself to smile back down as they slid down to the floor and sat there. Neither of them took note of the time they spent sitting together, only thinking about their arms around each other, ignoring the Pearl's outside and focusing on each other. Yellow could not remember the last time she and Blue had been together like this, fully wrapped in each other and for once in many years, Yellow was happy. She had been convinced Blue wouldn't allow her anywhere near her like this, not since the trial, but feeling Blue in her arms, knowing her body wasn't shuddering with her cries, Yellow was content. She wanted to stay in this moment forever, but she knew she had to open her eyes now. This is a time for action, they had a plan and if it went how they wanted they would have time for this later. As much as it pained Yellow to do so, she eventually moved, helping Blue up as well. Blue and Yellow shared one last embrace as Yellow gently kissed Blue's forehead and Blue pulled away smiling,

"Thank you, Yellow. I hope I haven't waisted too much time..." she said, stroking at her now short hair.

"Nonsense, the soldiers and pilots work around our time. I'm just glad to know you're okay." Yellow straightened her back, "besides, I told them we'd be leaving half an hour from now, so you haven't much to worry about." Yellow turned to walk towards the door, stopping to let Blue walk next to her before they left, "I think it suits you, by the way... and I'm sure White would be happy to know you finally cut your hair," this earned a chuckle from Blue as she tucked a small strand behind her ear. As they walked out together Blue pulled her hood up once more to keep up appearances with the Gems outside and kept close to Yellow as she told the Pearls to stand back into their normal positions and the Quartz guards to alert the soldiers of their departure shortly. Yellow could feel herself becoming restless at the thought of making course for Earth, for Blue to finally be able to move on. As she was giving her orders she managed a look at Blue next to her and couldn't help but notice the smallest of smiles from under her hood and Yellow knew that this would all be worth it.


End file.
